764 miles ridden – 5372m climbed – temperature HOT

Aside from my usual day 3/4 why am I doing this wobble I really enjoyed this trip. The distances were not an issue once I had found my cycling companions – those who cycle at same average speed, those who like to chat some times and ride alone at others, and those who navigate well – time cycling was joyful.

The temperature was a problem to start with as cycling in 40C is tough however fit you are but you can only get so sweaty! Once your clothes are saturated and you’re used to the sweat running down your legs you really do stop noticing. My P-20 once-a-day sunscreen worked a dream so no sunburn and no topping up during the day. The tough bit was sleeping in a hot often airless room.

Of the 14 different hotels we stayed in only 6 had air-conditioning. Two had some form of mechanical ventilation but that never got the room temperature down for comfortable sleeping especially during the first week when the outside overnight temperature rarely went below 20C. I’m not sure what Peak Tours can do about this to be fair as in some cases we stayed at the only place for miles around but if summers keep getting this hot I’m sure it will become a bigger issue.

The climbing was a much bigger issue for me than usual. I suspect some of that had to do with the heat but also my lack of any hill training in the run up to the trip. Suffolk put me in good stead for headwinds but not long climbs so I will have to do better on that issue next time.

My bike worked well aside from two things. Firstly I got a puncture, the first puncture I have ever had out on one of these tours. I cycled all the way across the USA, up the Mississippi, across France, Italy, Scotland without any punctures. I am putting this down to a replacement wheel I had to get just three weeks before the trip as I had to get the wheel worked on in Regensburg so the moral of the story is don’t but cheap wheels. I am already scouting out replacements.

The riders on this trip were all really nice folks.

Grant and Tracy – Grant is a Cardiac surgeon and Tracy a doctor. Tracy grew up in Watford and used to go to Baileys……

Andy and Eunice – solid Yorkshire folk who bath wore Betty’s tea room sponsored cycling shirts. Andy had a very nice custom built bike from Spa Cycles in Harrogate.

Nick and Karen – Nick retired from the Royal Navy and now works for the NHS, Karen is a teacher. They both also work for a charity teaching people of all ages to cycle.

Jim and Mary – They live over on the West Coast of the US and are solid fast riders. They are very well travelled and great fun.

Darryl and Ally – over from Perth in Western Australia for this ride. Darryl is at least 6’4” and a very strong rider. He and Ally brought their bikes over from Oz so we had bonding time at the beginning when we were building our bikes and at the end when we were packing them up.

Roy – I’ve mentioned him before. He’s 77 and recovering from a stroke but a remarkable guy. He was riding an electric assist bike but even allowing for that he is a very strong rider. Not so good with a Garmin though – he notched up quite a few extra miles and ferry crossings along the way.

Paul – Paul was our saviour on quite a few occasions where there were road closures and diversions. He was normally riding up front and would alert us on the group WhatsApp as to what we were approaching and how to work around it. On. A large part of his career was working in HMRC where he apparently devised the ‘K’ code for tax returns and also drove the change in company car taxation to be based on list price when new rather than engine capacity. I did have a stern word with him about that.

Neil – Neil and I rode together most of the time. Sometimes chatting, sometimes just taking turns leading one and other in silence. He was also good on a Garmin which was useful when my had a ‘moment’ which they all do!

He works for a couple of NGOs, one in Malawi teaching locals how to build and maintain bicycles and another in Nepal working to fight child trafficking. As previously mentioned he also worked at the BBC for a while so we had plenty to talk about.

And then there was me